


Hush Darling, Don't Make A Sound

by smallprotector



Category: The Mechanisms (Band)
Genre: 5+1 Fic, Abuse, Blood, Carmilla being very creepy, Manipulation, Needles
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-12
Updated: 2020-07-12
Packaged: 2021-03-04 19:22:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,560
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25211599
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/smallprotector/pseuds/smallprotector
Summary: Rescue and torture, kindness and cruelty- after meeting Dr. Carmilla, telling the two things apart became difficult for Nastya.Or: five times Nastya had to put up with Carmilla touching her and one time she didn't.
Comments: 7
Kudos: 60





	Hush Darling, Don't Make A Sound

1.

Nastya was bleeding. It was a small wound, not one that would be fatal to anyone else. But as she sat curled up on the floor, she knew even if no one came for her she would die, slow and sure as the cold creeping into her trembling limbs to replace the blood. She knew her parents were dead, her brothers. All while the supposedly peaceful revolution she had invited into the palace raged on, killing anyone in its path. 

That’s when she was found. 

She circled Nastya, offering words that seemed so honeyed and smooth until Nastya forced herself to listen past the dull roar of panic in her ears, forced herself to cling to consciousness with any strength she had left. Then Nastya knew there was no kindness on offer here. 

But she didn’t want to die. 

There was blood on the hand reaching out for her. There was blood on that hand, and it could have been from her parents, it could have been from her parent’s murderers, it could have been from anyone. There was blood on that hand, and still Nastya knew she had to take it.

The blood was still hot and sticky, and the hand holding hers squeezed harder than she had expected, and for a moment Nastya was afraid she would never be let go again. Then her face was brough closer to all of that blood and pain bloomed from her neck before all she knew was darkness and pain. 

2.

It wasn’t like waking up. It was like being thrown into a freezing cold fire that was crawling under her skin, burning inside her. Was she screaming? Was she moving? Nastya could not have said. Then there was pressure encircling her, bands of pain stronger than the others. 

“Hush, hush my darling.” There were words, gentle and unrelenting as all Nastya could do was gasp for breath. She fought for any air left to ask to be let go, to ask for the overwhelming caresses on her hair and face to stop, please. 

She did not find it, but the hands moved to syringes and needles as the soft crooning continued. 

3\. 

The next time Nastya awoke, she was different. Not like Carmilla- but not human anymore either. She took to wandering the ship she had been taken to, staring blankly at anyone who tried to talk to her. Or killing her. She didn’t know why that kept happening whenever she ran into the man with far too many belts and a perpetually angry face. 

Carmilla didn’t seem to mind, leading her around the ship and to the lab as she pleased, hands gentle on her shoulders and wrists until all Nastya wanted to do was scream to let her go. 

Finally, she did. 

Carmilla blinked, a slow smile creeping across her face. 

“I’m glad I didn’t end up rescuing a corpse after all, I was getting worried.” 

“Please just- leave me alone! I don’t want to go back to the lab, please let me go.” 

A hand smoothed a strand of her hair behind her ear as she ducked her head to hide her tears. 

“No, don’t hide- oh you are pretty when you cry aren’t you.” A finger ferried a tear off to waiting lips. 

“Look, just let me go, I don’t know where we are but there must be somewhere you can let me leave.” 

A laugh she remembered from hours of begging for the pain to stop. 

“There is nowhere for you to go. There’s a price on your head, my dear princess, and I don’t know how well you would fare in cold cruel space. I’m all you have. I’m the only one that cares about you know, you know that.” Nastya didn’t want to keep crying, but she shook with sobs she couldn’t suppress. As Carmilla embraced her, shushing her and rubbing her back, she let it happen. Who else was going to comfort her now?

4.

Nastya’s hands were trembling. She tried holding them behind her back, the way she did when she fell back into old habits, spine turned to steel as she stay rooted wherever she stood. 

But she could only hide for so long. 

Dr. Carmilla was having her practice the violin, teaching her songs (without Jonny, insisting he had knew them all well enough already) when it happened. “You’re shivering! Are you cold?”

“No.” Share as little as possible, no unnecessary movements. It didn’t stop Carmilla from coming over and plucking the guitar from her hands before taking them into her hands, turning them over as though they were part of a holographic puzzle. 

“Your hands- wait, has this been going on for a while?” 

There was no right answer to that. Carmilla always seemed to know when she was lying, even if usually all she did was laugh. 

“We can fix that. Here, I’ll take you down to the lab-“

“I don’t want to go back-“

“Anastasia, I know it might not be pleasant, but I’m going to fix this.” The hands that had been so gentle in holding hers were now like manacles around her wrists as Camilla led her slowly to the lab. Jonny was there, cleaning what looked to be his own blood off a knife with a disgruntled expression before he looked up. 

“Jonny, I’ll need a syringe.”

“No really, Dr. Carmilla, I’m fine.”

“This kind of thing can happen at the beginning, it’s important to catch it early, just sit down over there, I wouldn’t want to restrain you.”

Nastya hated the restraints. Dr. Carmilla hated it when Nastya moved. 

Again, the deceptively gentle arms were pushing her back against the table in the center of the room. 

“Jonny, if you’re not going to be helpful then get out, I can’t use a child throwing a tantrum.” 

Nastya focused on sitting still. Before the testing and optimising of the blood was done, she was strapped down, unable to move, unable to resist when Carmilla’s hands smoothed down her hair in-between taking samples and injecting whatever new concoctions she had come up with. 

5.

“Nastya? My darling, I got something for you.” The words were sweet, the tone cheerful. It should not have made dread pool in Nastya’s stomach like lead as her back straightened and her face lost all unnecessary expression.

“What is it? If you cut off Jonny’s hand again, I told you that’s not-”

“Ah, Jonny knows to keep out of my way by now. No, it’s something nice, I promise.”

And suddenly there was a heavy weight around Nastya’s shoulders, and for a moment she froze, arms moving up instinctively. As the weight settled around her, she realised it was a long coat, heavy material a dark blue. She started putting it on as Carmilla started talking. 

“I noticed you’ve been wearing one of Jonny’s old jackets, but it’s far too large for you and I had him throw it out when we were on that last planet, and I got you this new one- it’s much better.”

It was. Nastya knew how to recognise high quality, and this coat had it- fabric, good sturdy metal buttons, a clean fresh smell that had none of Jonny’s slightly off-putting but strangely comforting scent of whisky and gunpowder. And instead of feelings Jonny’s strange and abrasive presence hovering awkwardly around her like a hand reaching out to give a shoulder pat, now she felt- Carmilla’s presence like a hand on the nape of her neck- claimed. Marked. 

“Thank you.”

“Of course, my darling.” She stepped forward, close enough that Nastya cringed before she could stop herself, and a dark look flashed across Carmilla’s face as she adjusted the lapels with more force than strictly necessary, hands straying closer to Nastya’s neck. 

“There isn’t that better,” she murmured softly, leaning in until her breath stirred across Nastya’s neck as she stood frozen 

“Hey Doc, did you get the gun off that guy who tried to stab me? Looked like a right fun one.” 

Jonny’s voice startled them both and Carmilla turned away, scowling as she so often did at Jonny these days when he interrupted them. Nastya took the chance to retreat back to her room. 

+1: 

Dr. Carmilla was gone. Jonny hadn’t told Nastya about the plan to throw her out of the airlock- and insisted, every chance he got, on bragging about how he had done it all by himself. 

He was different now she was gone. He was injured less, for one thing. And now when he was bleeding it was usually while he grinned maniacally and laughed at whoever thought they had any chance against him. 

Nastya had taken longer to adjust. Even now, a friendly hand on her shoulder sent phantom needles tingling across her skin. The crew had noticed, and now Nastya was finally free of hands.

It was better that way. 

Now, if Nastya needed a steady presence surrounding her, she had spaces all over the Aurora to crawl into. Little nooks and crannies where the ship would divert more energy to keep her warm and cozy while she stayed undisturbed by anyone else. Here, she was the one whispering to the Aurora as she let her fingers trace over the metal of her home and her love all in one. Here, she was safe.

**Author's Note:**

> This is probably OOC, but I didn't have a huge amount to work with here so please forgive me. Comments are very appriciated!!
> 
> Edit: I forgot to say earlier, but the titel is from the Dr. Carmilla song Lullaby. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lldnep2m2Bo here's a link to it!


End file.
